See Also: company(2)(dictionary)
Company Rag(money)
KPI COMPANY(finance)
COMPANY(finance)
Company(money)
company car(dictionary)
KAS Air Company(tourism)
company law(dictionary)
BYD COMPANY(finance)
in-company(dictionary)

company(1) (iou)



company noun. ME.
[Anglo-Norman compainie, Old French compa(i)gnie, from Proto-Romance source of COMPANION noun1: see -Y3. Infl. in commercial sense by Italian compagnia, in military sense by French compagnie.]
Companionship, fellowship, society. ME.
H. James He found his own company quite absorbing. N. Mosley My child was quiet in the company of the others.
b. Sexual intercourse. ME-E17.
A number of individuals assembled or associated together; a body of people combined for some common object. ME.
V. Woolf Gulls rode gently swaying in little companies of two or three.
esp.
a. A body of soldiers; spec. a subdivision of an infantry battalion usu. commanded by a major or a captain. ME.
b. (A corporation historically representing) a medieval trade guild. LME.
c. A party of actors, entertainers, (formerly) musicians, etc. E16.
d. A legal association formed to carry on some commercial or industrial undertaking. M16.
e. In full ship's company. The entire crew of a ship. E17.
f. A social party or assembly. M17.
g. A unit of Guides. E20.
Persons assembled or associated together; the social world (arch.); persons or a person whose presence prevents solitude or privacy; esp. guests. LME.
Oxford English Dictionary I hoped we should be private here, but I find we have company. R. Lardner I do love to have company once in a while, just a few congenial friends.
b. The partner(s) whose names do not appear in the style or title of a firm. Chiefly in and Company. M16.
c. The person or persons with whom one voluntarily or habitually associates. E17.
Burke Unfortunate in the choice of his political company.
Phrases: bad company, good company, etc., (a) a dull, lively, etc., companion; (b) unsuitable, suitable, etc., companions. bear company: see BEAR verb1. err in good company do no more than better people have done. free company: see FREE adjective. good company: see bad company above. in company with together with. JOHN Company. join company: see JOIN verb 2. joint-stock company: see JOINT adjective. keep company (with) associate habitually (with); arch. colloq. court. keep a person company accompany or stay with a person. know a person by his or her company, know a person by the company he or she keeps deduce a person's character from his or her habitual companions, resorts, etc. LIMITED company. LIMITED-liability company. MIXED company. parent company: see PARENT noun 3b. part company: see PART verb. present company excepted: see PRESENT adjective. private company: see PRIVATE adjective. proprietary company: see PROPRIETARY adjective 2. public company: see PUBLIC adjective & noun. repertory company: see REPERTORY 3c. ship's company: see sense 3e above. STATUTORY company. subsidiary company: see SUBSIDIARY adjective 1. the Company US slang the Central Intelligence Agency. transfer company: see TRANSFER noun.
Comb.: company car: owned (or leased) and maintained by a commercial company for the use of an employee; company law: concerned with legally established companies; company officer a captain or lower commissioned officer; company promoter: see PROMOTER 1b; company sergeant-major: see SERGEANT-MAJOR noun 2.